Knowledge Base

The Rossica Society Journal

The Rossica Society publishes two journals per year, the first in the Spring and the next in the Fall.

The journal consists of scholarly articles focused on all aspects of Russian philately that may include information on the pre-stamp days of Russia,
Imperial postage, prison mail, World War correspondence, or the postage of post-Soviet states. The fascinating and sometimes incredibly confusing
history of Russia, the Soviet Union, and post-Soviet states make our hobby a most interesting one!

The Rossica Society Virtual Gallery (RVG)

These are the last two exhibits added to the RVG:

The Evolution of 'via-Siberia' Mail. 1897 - 1945

Added on 2016-12-16

Summary:Updated December 2016! This exhibit offers the viewer a chronological overview of the postal evolution of mail sent by way of the trans-Siberian rail network between 1897 and 1945. ...See the Exhibit

Prisoners of the Great War Send Home Picture Postcards

Added on 2015-08-24

Summary: This exhibit explores an unusual phenomenon: relatively abundant picture postcards (PPCs) in the mail of the prisoners of the Great War (1914 - 1918). The imagery of these postcards conveyed additional meanings to the correspondence of POWs and prov...See the Exhibit

Top Awards for Rossica Journal at the APS StampShow 2017

The last two issues of the Rossica journal, #167-168, have been awarded the Reserve Grand and Large Gold at the APS StampShow 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. It means that we have received second place among ALL of the literature entries at the show, including catalogs, specializes studies and, of course, periodicals. See more information and images in the Palmares section of the Samovar.

Rossica Awarded 2016 CG International Philatelic Promotion Award

For the second year in a row, the Rossica Journal received top honors at the CG International Philatelic Promotion Award, receiving 6th place overall. The journal received a 5th place award in the same competition in 2015. Details here: http://www.cg-award.com/

Volunteer to Support the Society!

If you would like to support the Society with some of your free time, we are
looking for volunteers to support our website, our journal, provide translation or expertizing services and more!
You can volunteer online using the Volunteer Form (click this link or find it at the bottom of this page).

The Rossica Identification Service (RIS)

Rossica has introduced a new identification service, free to members, and a minimal $5 fee for non-members. This is not an opinion of authenticity service,
but is offered to help collectors tap the vast wealth of knowledge at the Society to help identify items in their collection that might be difficult to identify.
There is a link at the bottom of the Rossica home page, or you can access it at this link: http://www.rossica.org/ris.php.

The Samovar - Rossica's Discussion Forum

The Samovar is the Rossica Society's discussion forum, where all things philatelically Russia and related are discussed. Every forum except the Society Forum is
available for viewing by the general public. Visitors that wish to participate in our forum discussions must register first.

The Rossica Virtual Gallery (RVG)

Ever since the early 1980s, the Rossica Society would preserve information and material contained in its members' exhibits, and make that information
available to members through photocopies (usually black-and-white) or CDs/DVDs. Today, the Rossica Society is pleased to share our award-winning
exhibits to the public through our digital forum, The Rossica Society Virtual Gallery, or RVG. We have more than 34 exhibits digitized, and available
for viewing on a computer.

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What is the Rossica Society?

The Rossica Society is a world-wide society devoted to all aspects of Russian philately, from the pre-stamp
days of Imperial Russia to current post-Soviet philately. The purpose of the Society is to unite all philatelists throughout
the world with an interest in Russian philately and provide them a means of broadening their philatelic knowledge through
inter- communication via the award winning Rossica Journal and this award winning web site.

Raymond Casey's Russian Ship Mail Collection

By Bernd Essler, translated to Russian by Aleksey Babochkin

The article is an overview of Dr. Raymond Casey's Russian ship mail collection by well-known German philatelist Bernd Essler. Dr. Casey's collection was sold through
a David Feldman auction in December 2016.

Soviet Clandestine Mail Surveillance 1917-1991

The series that appeared in the Rossica Journal under this same title has now been greatly expanded and extended,
with many new discoveries and hundreds of clandestine censor marks (and censorship-related date stamps) illustrated.

Soviet Clandestine Mail Surveillance, 1917-1991 by David M. Skipton and Steve Volis (a publication of the Collector's
Club of Chicago) is an unusual hybrid of empirical philatelic research, argumentation and history
presented chronologically. It examines the secret police's political control offices - the PKs - that secretly watched the correspondence
of Soviet citizens and foreigners alike in the USSR, and demonstrates that the PKs used censor marks masquerading as postmarks
to convey information and instructions between themselves. Hundreds of these censor marks are recorded here,
along with hundreds more that the authors argue were used to aid in the "classification campaigns" of the 1920s,
the prelude to collectivization and the purges. The book will be useful to philatelists and historians alike.

The case-bound, all-color, 530-page book is available now for immediate shipping! Order
yours from the Rossica Bookstore.

The Rossica Virtual Gallery (RVG)

Introduction by David Skipton

Ever since the early 1980s, the Rossica Society has made an effort to preserve the information and material contained in its members' exhibits.
Up until now, that effort has consisted of making photocopies (usually black-and-white) or CDs/DVDs and putting them in the Rossica Library so that
members could check them out, study them and learn, using them as a research tool. Given the technology back then, this was the best that could
be accomplished, and it could never reach more than one individual at a time, it had to be posted through the mail, and it was cumbersome enough
that few availed themselves of the opportunity.

The Rossica Identification Service (RIS)

Introduction by Greg Mirsky, PhD

The Rossica Society is pleased to offer all Russia and related collectors and enthusiast services to help identify stamps, postal history,
or any other philatelic items related to Russian philately or erinnophilia. The service is offered free to Rossica Society members, and for a
nominal fee to non-members. Although this service does not provide an official opinion of authenticity, the Society will reach out to
experts on the items in question on your behalf. This is a great way to identify those hard-to-figure out cancels, town names, and get translations
of addresses, cancellations, etc.

News

Aug-17

Top Awards for Rossica Journal at the APS StampShow 2017

The last two issues of the Rossica journal, #167-168, have been awarded the Reserve Grand and Large Gold at the APS StampShow 2017 in Richmond, Virginia. It means that we have received second place among ALL of the literature entries at the show, including catalogs, specializes studies and, of course, periodicals. See more information and images in the Palmares section of the Samovar.

Nov-02

Rossica Awarded 2016 CG International Philatelic Promotion Award

For the second year in a row, the Rossica Journal received top honors at the CG International Philatelic Promotion Award, receiving 6th place overall. The journal received a 5th place award in the same competition in 2015. Details here: http://www.cg-award.com/